4,000 property millionaires as Irish house prices rocket

Td blasts Government policy failure

ALMOST 4,000 Irish homeowners are now property millionaires thanks to the massive boom in house prices. And many more families could soon find themselves in the same boat as huge demand and limited supply drives the market up. House prices rose by 9.4% last year, with an average of 12 properties valued at €1million or more sold every week, a Daft.ie report revealed. Dun Laoghaire Anti-austerity TD Richard Boyd Barrett described the dramatic increases recorded in the Wealth Report, as “further evidence of the disastrous failure of government housing policy”. With the total value of all residential property in the country rising towards €400billion, values in the greater Dublin area continue to dwarf elsewhere. The highest concentration of property millionaires reside in the South of the county – 609 live in Dalkey, followed by Blackrock at 576 and Foxrock with 540. House values in Sandycove top the list at an average of €787,000, followed by Foxrock €759,000, Mount Merrion €748,000 and Dalkey €693,000 Herbert Park in Ballsbridge is the most expensive street to buy – the leafy road has seen five properties change hands for €3millon or more in the past 18 months. The quaint village of Enniskerry – which straddles the Wicklow/ Dublin border is the most expensive area outside the capital, with an average asking price of €495,000. North Wicklow commuter towns feature highly on the list, with Delgany and Greystones weighing in with average sales of €387,000 and €357,000 respectively. Prices decrease further away from Dublin. Kinsale is the top location in Munster with an average asking price of €309,000. Towns within the Cork commuter region also feature amongst the highest prices in Munster, with an average of €304,000. In Connacht, Kinvara €257,000, Oughterard €219,000 and Virgina at €196,000 occupy the top slots. The country’s least expensive markets are both in Roscommon, with an average of €58,000 in Ballaghaderreen and €59,000 in Strokestown. The bottom five is rounded off by Ballymote/tubbercurry (Sligo) €62,000, North-east Galway and Castlereagh (Roscommon), both at €63,000 Ronan Lyons, author of the Daft.ie Wealth Report said: “Understanding where our country’s housing wealth lies is not only interesting reading, it is also important for policymakers. “What is clear is that housing wealth is concentrated in urban areas. “By connecting this with information on public spending, it is possible to see whether all areas are getting their fair share of public monies.”